TWINNING PROGRAM WITH GEORGIA, ROMANIA, AND UKRAINE

David Waldeck had the pleasure of hosting Dimitri Khoshtariya and a new team member, Tinatin Dolidze, Georgian Academy of Sciences Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Electrochemistry, for two months in October 1999. During this time, experiments were performed to study the electron exchange between a redox active molecule in solution and a metal electrode coated with an ultrathin organic film. The majority of the data collection has been completed and the analysis of the experimental results has begun. The two-month visit by the Georgian scientists resulted in a considerable number of accomplishments. First, they extended the work of Khoshtariya from redox reactions on platinum (Pt) to reactions at gold (Au) electrodes. Secondly, they developed a methodology to create well-packed alkanethiol films on Au electrodes for alkane chain lengths containing 2, 4, 6, and 8 methylenes. Waldeck has plans to travel to Georgia in June 2000 to complete a manuscript for publication.

Update--2000

Having completed the experimental phase of the project when Dolidze and Khoshtariya visited Pittsburgh in 1999, Waldeck traveled to Tbilisi in June 2000, where he and his colleagues spent a month analyzing their data and preparing a manuscript for publication. This paper, which is entitled "Observation of the Turnover between the Solvent Fraction (Overdamped) and Tunneling (Nonadiabatic) Charge-Transfer Mechanisms for a Au/Fe(CN)6 3-/4- Electrode Process and Evidence for a Freezing Out of the Marcus Barrier," has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Physical Chemistry and is set to appear in 2001. To close out this Twinning Project, Khoshtariya made another visit to Pittsburgh in August-September 2000. He and Waldeck initiated work on fundamental aspects of electron transfer between electrodes and redox proteins. On the basis of the preliminary data they collected, they prepared and submitted a proposal to NSF to continue their collaboration.

Overall, Waldeck reports that the two-year project has benefited both sides: "The Georgian group has acquired expertise in the preparation of self-assembled monolayer films. The US group has acquired an appreciation for electrochemical kinetic measurements and their utility. In addition, the US group is initiating a new direction for their work--electrochemical studies of biological systems."